Economist , Aug. 8 (posted Saturday, Aug. 8, 1998) The Panglossian cover editorial welcomes a stock market slump: "[A] modest drop in share prices could be exactly what is needed right now." Stocks remain overvalued, and a harmless fall now will prevent a tragic fall later. A true crash is unlikely, argues the piece. ... A story examines the growing business of international Internet medical prescriptions. If you live in a country where Viagra is banned, you can order the drug from an American pharmacy's Web site by giving a credit card number and minimal personal information. Legislation banning the practice seems inevitable. ... A story says Fox Sports Net is eating into ESPN's market. By buying local sports networks instead of relying on national programming, Fox gives viewers more coverage of their home teams. Disney (owner of ESPN) is kicking itself for not having done the same thing. Vanity Fair , September 1998 (posted Friday, Aug. 7, 1998) Three stories about writers. VF excerpts a new book by Joyce Maynard, who chronicles the affair she had with J.D. Salinger in the early '70s. She was 18, he was 53. Tasty morsels: 1) Salinger got so frustrated at her inability to have intercourse (it was stress-related) that he brought her to a naturopathic practitioner in Florida (it didn't work). 2) Salinger's New Agey wellness mania led him to purge after eating unhealthy foods. 3) Salinger worked on his fiction every day (despite not having published in years), and his house holds a room-sized vault of unseen manuscripts. (For a Slate take on Maynard, see Alex Beam's "I Was a Teen-Ager for the New York Times.") ... A story profiles Stephen Glass, the New Republic writer fired for fabricating articles. Glass' former colleagues say he was pathologically insecure and too eager to please. He lied up until the bitter end, even in the face of damning evidence. ... VF interviews Tom Wolfe about his new novel, A Man in Full , due to be published this fall. The 700 page work centers on a debt-ridden Atlanta aristocrat. Wolfe seems very conservative, very arrogant, very foppish, and very genuine. New York Times Magazine , Aug. 9 (posted Thursday, Aug. 6, 1998) The cover story examines claims that author Raymond Carver's short stories were more a product of Carver's editor than of Carver himself. Yes, editor Gordon Lish used a heavy hand in shaping Carver's early voice (rewriting long passages, violently cutting text, changing the tone). But this does not differ from what, for example, Ezra Pound did to T.S. Eliot's work. Besides, Carver's later (many say better) stories were entirely his own. The piece notes that authorship is always a collaborative process to some degree, be it with editor, spouse, etc. ... An article covers the forthcoming whale hunt of the Makah. The Washington state Native American tribe is fighting environmentalists and politicians for the right to resume hunting a few whales a year, an old Makah tradition. Not an old Makah tradition: the .50-caliber rifle they will use in the hunt. ... A story profiles new Christian Coalition head Randy Tate, a k a the guy in Ralph Reed's shadow. Tate lacks the political savvy of his predecessor, Reed, and critics say Tate's unrelenting focus on gays will hurt the coalition in the long run. Time and Newsweek , Aug. 10 (posted Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998) They're loony for Lewinsky. Time 's seven piece cover package includes an hour-by-hour account of Ken Starr's machinations to secure Monica's testimony, including a behind-the-scenes look at the meeting that sealed the deal. (Key to success: Monica's lawyers brought a 46-year-old female colleague to guide Monica through the sensitive parts of her story.) Other features: a breakdown of Clinton's options ( Time likes the idea of a public apology but thinks Clinton's team would never go for it); a recapping and analysis of Starr's evidence, as Time understands it; a prediction that the House will do nothing before elections; and a piece claiming the scandal has ruined any chance for Clinton to burnish his legacy before he leaves office--he simply doesn't have the political clout anymore. ... Newsweek 's more modest package adds this nugget: "Starr's team ... has discussed indicting the president for obstruction while he is still in office, but holding off on the trial until he is a private citizen," when a conviction would be easier to obtain. Newsweek also runs an essay from Clinton-loyalist-cum-moralist George Stephanopoulos, who urges the prez to come clean. Stephanopoulos thinks Clinton has been hurt by confiding in only a small circle and cutting off many of his advisers. Time says steroids aren't just for boys anymore. Teen-age girls are taking them to improve performance and win college athletic scholarships. How do you know if your daughter is on steroids? Her breasts shrink and her voice deepens. Newsweek runs a rant bemoaning the glitzification of the Hamptons. Clinton's recent visit marked the final straw for a quiet community besieged by rich and gaudy outsiders. U.S. News & World Report , Aug. 10 (posted Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998) U.S. News ' scandal package delivers much the same info as Time 's and Newsweek 's in far less space. One piece argues that middle America just wants the scandal over with and wants Clinton to stay in office. ... A story says anthropologists are redefining themselves. Having slipped too far into the sheltered and irrelevant world of academia, anthropologists now strive to make a difference: One anthropologist hired by a slaughterhouse helped explain meatpacker society to factory supervisors. The New Yorker , Aug. 10 (posted Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998) A story looks at life in Cambodia, post-Pol Pot. While the genocide has ended, random killing by policemen continues. Leader Hun Sen ignores election results and intimidates his people but still has U.N. support. Latest outrage: Hun Sen inducted several former Khmer Rouge soldiers into the Cambodian army. ... A piece celebrates amateur astronomy. It doesn't take a huge telescope or federal funding to make important discoveries--it just takes patience and luck. The godfather of amateur cosmology: John Dobson, a monk who would tote his "Dobsonian" (a cheap, powerful telescope) to street corners and convince passers-by to stargaze. --Seth Stevenson